MEDIA ADVISORY: View a house powered by renewable energy, meet the KU students who built it on April 15


LAWRENCE — Area media are invited to view Haven Studio – a zero energy house powered by renewable energy designed and built by University of Kansas architecture students for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Build Challenge competition – on Saturday, April 15, in Lawrence.

The KU team, third- and fourth-year students in the School of Architecture & Design’s Dirt Works Studio, is competing with more than a dozen national and international collegiate teams to design and build the most sustainable, cutting-edge house. Haven Studio stands out among competitors due to a design that minimizes embodied and operational carbon, and the high level of involvement from students in the construction process. Outside of a few limited partnerships, students completed all aspects of construction, from foundations to finishes.

Photography and video will be allowed in and around the house. Students and instructor Chad Kraus, Associate Professor of Architecture, will be available throughout the event.

When: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Time: Ribbon cutting at 10 a.m.; interactive open house to follow, continues until 4 p.m.

Where: Haven Studio is located at 3813 Greenway Drive, adjacent to the KU School of Architecture & Design’s East Hills Designbuild Center, just off K10 in eastern Lawrence.

More information: For more information on the project visit: https://arcd.ku.edu/solar-decathlon

Contact: Interested media outlets may request more information and RSVP to drolf@ku.edu.


Digital rendering shows Haven Studio, a small wood-clad home with photovoltaic panels on roof, sited in a landscape of prairie plants in full bloom.

Image: Digital rendering of Haven Studio, KU’s entry to the 2023 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Build Challenge.